OUR CONGREGATION OF KINDNESS

Sydney, Australia – May 2026

A new anthology, Voices of Unity: Poetry, Time & the Divine, has been published following a moving intercultural and interfaith poetry gathering hosted by The Rev. Bill Crews Foundation.

This anthology brings together voices from diverse spiritual and cultural traditions, including Druze, Indian, Kurdish, Mandaean and Tibetan communities. Through poetry, chant, song, sacred reflection and personal expression, the collection honours the deep human longing for unity, compassion and the Divine.

The anthology emerged from Voices of Unity: Poetry, Time & the Divine, a gathering created to offer communities a sacred and welcoming space to share their wisdom traditions through the universal language of poetry. Hosted within the spirit of Rev Bill Crews’ lifelong commitment to kindness, inclusion and dignity, the event invited participants to move beyond division and celebrate the beauty of cultural and spiritual diversity in Australia.

The collection includes original and traditional offerings, community reflections, photographs, acknowledgements and insights from the judging process. It also captures the warmth of the gathering itself – where poetry became a bridge between communities, and where voices from different traditions were received with equal reverence.

Rev. Bill Crews, whose work has long championed the dignity of all people, supported the gathering as part of The Rev. Bill Crews Foundation’s broader mission to build community, nurture belonging and bring people together across lines of culture, faith and circumstance.

Edited by Dr Anjalika Wijesurendra, it is both a record of a beautiful event and a living offering of unity – “This anthology honours the sacred gifts each community brought forward. It reflects the possibility of Australia as a place where diverse traditions can meet not in separation, but in shared reverence, friendship and hope.”

The gathering was supported by community leaders, participating poets and performers from the Sabian Mandaean community, Tibetan community, Indian community, Druze community, and the Kurdish community, the judges, volunteers and The Crews Café, whose vegetarian and vegan menu helped create an atmosphere of warmth, hospitality and conversation.

Voices of Unity: Poetry, Time & the Divine stands as a testament to the power of poetry to soften boundaries, deepen understanding and reveal the shared light within diverse traditions.

For media enquiries, interviews or further information, please contact:

Dr Anjalika Wijesurendra

Editor, Voices of Unity: Poetry, Time & the Divine

The Bill Crews Congregation of Kindness

Email: [email protected]

Hi Everyone,

My friend Gerry prepared and read this out during our church service on Sunday, 26th April 2026.

I asked if it was ok to share it with you. I thought it was a great contribution to our Congregation of Kindness.

I’d love your contributions too.

Why We Must Never Forget

It is almost 81 years since the war in Europe ended and, all but 10 days, I have lived through all of them so have had a life free from any of the dangers or sacrifices that come with war. I know there have been lots of wars elsewhere, but they were always elsewhere.

That’s 3 and possibly 4 generations that have never experienced not just war but the necessary sacrifices that touch everyone.

If we have no experience of war, can we really understand peace? I worry that peace has come to mean a life being able to enjoy all the benefits that have come with these 81 years. Not to mention the freedoms we take for granted.

There has never been so much wealth and prosperity in the world as today, even if it is not shared equitably. But, at the same time, there has never been so much tyranny, oppression and suffering around the world in my lifetime as today.

Last week, Bill asked why do we continue to have wars? Do we never learn?

I have no profound answer to that question, other than to ask if we just forget. Forget that the forces of darkness (I could say evil) have never gone away. What Conrad called the Heart of Darkness that kills unarmed protesters or those with different beliefs and women and children.

By accident or design, modern warfare has increasingly targeted the innocent. In addition, cyberwarfare and economic warfare are just other ways to create misery.

At some point we are going to have to ask ourselves, “what is peace?” Does it mean selling lots of stuff to them? Or needing their oil or critical minerals being able to buy really cheap clothing? And the rest we don’t want to know.

On Anzac Day we remember those who died for our country and fighting for what was right. But for the rest of the year, we really don’t want to know about those who returned but who still sacrificed much. So returned veterans are three times more likely to be homeless and close to double the rate of suicide.

A quote from Deitrich Bonhoffer, a German minister executed in the last days of the war for speaking out about the Nazis, “Silence in the face of evil is evil itself.”

A poem by Siegfried Sassoon, an English writer who fought in WWI before protesting against the scale of slaughter on the front.

At The Cenotaph
I saw the Prince of Darkness, with his Staff,
Standing bare headed by the Cenotaph:
Unostentatious and respectful, there
He stood and offered up the following prayer.
‘Make them forget, O Lord, what this Memorial
Means; their discredited ideas revive;
Breed new belief that War is purgatorial
Proof of the pride and power of being alive;
Men’s biologic urge to readjust
The Map of Europe, Lord of Hosts, increase;
Lift up their hearts in large destructive lust;
And crown their heads with blind vindictive Peace.’
The Prince of Darkness to the Cenotaph
Bowed. As he walked away, I heard him laugh.